Opinions wanted - gas tank location

[TomK]

I’m looking for opinions on my gas tank location. In the picture below, I dropped a threaded bung into the speedometer hole in the backbone of my 78 FL hardtail frame for the front tank mount.



This is how it will look if I weld the bung in there. I’m worried that the tank is sitting to far away from the steering head, and won’t look right.

Should I mount the tank there, or drill a hole closer to the stem?

If anyone else has used the speedometer hole as the spot for a frisco front tank mount, please share a picture.

Thanks

[JBinNC]

You need to mount the fork trees, or forks, and the risers and bars to check for clearance. A lot of people end up with the fuel tank as a fork stop.

Jim

[1971]

Just a suggestion, but I would hang the front end and see what kind of clearance your handlebars have. If you've got clearance, I would let it be to save drilling and welding anymore than you have to on the frame. hell, you may like the way it looks as as is. Sometimes the bike will tell you what it wants.

Just my 2 cents.

'71

[1971]

Yeah, what Jim said.

[JBinNC]

Yeah, what 1971 said.

Jim

[TomK]

Thanks. I ordered a Paughco Springer last week, so it may be a while before I can mock it up. I’m planning on running some 8” t-bars that should clear the tank either way. I guess I’ll just need to be patient for now and resist the temptation to start welding. The reason I wanted to use the speedo hole in the first place is to avoid putting any more holes in the frame than I need to.

[JakeF]

Yeah, what Jim and 1971 said. Hold off on the welding until you can do a real mock up with the front end and bars on.

[1971]

The waiting does suck, but believe me, you'll be glad you did.

'71

[DoomBuggy]

That is the spot I used on Brown Sugar and it worked out with an old FX 35mm front end. Biggest issue I had was clearance for the rear head and the fuel petcock.

I totally agree with the rest, mock it before you weld it

[TomK]

Thanks. I have one of those Lowbrow tanks with the petcock mount on the side at the rear, so clearance there shouldn’t be problem. I’m still going to wait to mock it all up.

[TomK]

If this is what you’re referring to Doom, that is awesome! I think the tank looks perfect in that spot. Still, I’ll wait to mock it up right.

[BlackCloudSalvage]

I like it. I do not like when tanks are too far forward and there's a big ole gap between seat and tank. I think having the tank set back off the neck makes the whole bike look longer and more slim and agile. Just an aesthetic obviously.

[TriNortchopz]

and if you do want to move it closer to the neck, it don't mean you gotta use that front tab to mount it...
could weld in a counterbored un-threaded bung in that same frame hole, and then tig braze or tig weld a blind threaded bung in the bottom of the tank tunnel for bottom mounting with an allen head bolt as an option.

[Tater66]

It helps to have engine in place also.

Look at above photo. The tank is basically centered over the rocker boxes. Although the front cylinder is pitched forward and the tank is angled up, imagine a vertical line at the front and back of tank. Look at as many photos as you can stand and you will see the same spacing on most bikes.